


Trost Academy

by Bellovesus



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Reality, Gen, Modern Setting, No Titans, no walls
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:28:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26635120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bellovesus/pseuds/Bellovesus
Summary: Nine year old Armin Arlert suffers the loss of his Grandfather in a car accident. Dr Grisha Jaeger and his wife Carla decide to foster him. Their son Eren has a new foster-sibling.
Relationships: Armin Arlert & Eren Yeager
Comments: 1
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: 

Dr Grisha Jaeger, a rakish-thin gentleman in his forties with long-brown hair and soft green eyes behind a pair of spectables, returned to his office from lunch. Much of the day at his private clinic had been uneventful. Shiganshina was a small town on the fringes of the Maria Province in Paradis. 

Grisha had been born in the Republic of Liberio on the continent, but as a citizen of the Eldian Commonwealth Grisha moved his family to Paradis, partly because it was safer than living in Liberio which was often hit by terrorist attacks from Marley, and also because he had been fond of Paradis since he first went to this country during his gap-year before med school. Despite his efforts to persuade his parents and sister to move with him to Paradis, they preferred their own homeland in Liberio. It was a contest Grisha will never win. 

The doctor was tempted to leave the clinic early before phone rang on his desk. Grisha picked it up.

"Doctor Jaeger?" Came the voice from Reception. 

"Yes, Susan?" 

"The paramedics just brought in an old gentleman....." Susan paused as she was told something by one of the paramedics. "The patient is Mr Arlert, sir!"

Grisha gasped. Gebhard Arlert? He knew the man well. They were long-time neighbours and Gebhard's young grandson, Armin, was a regular patient of Grisha's due to his ashma, as well as a friend to his son Eren. 

"W-what happened, Susan?" Grisha demanded, rising from his chair.

"The old man was in a vehicle collision, Doctor Jaeger."

Grisha went pale. "I'll be right there!" The doctor put down the phone and rushed to Reception on the ground floor.

Upon arrival, he saw old Mr Arlert strapped to a gurney; his face was a mask of crimsom. Standing by the receptionist desk stood a young boy of nine with large, blue eyes and long, blond hair which made him look somewhat feminine. The boy sported a bleeding cut above his right eyebrow. 

"Susan? Take young Armin here and see about that cut. will you?!" Grisha put reassuring hand on the shocked young Armin's shoulder. "Hold steady, son. I'm going to see about your grandpa!" The doctor then rushed after the paramedics as the receptionist-nurse named Susan led Armin away.

Grisha ushered the paramedics down the hall. 

Armin was taken into a room by the nurse to have stitches for his forehead. The boy gazed fixedly at the floor. Is this actually happening, thought Armin. They were just chatting moments ago, but Grandpa was suddenly having his chest pains. Armin asked his Grandpa to stop for a moment, but the old man declined, saying that they were almost home anyway. But the chest pains continued and Grandpa's breathing became more erratic. Grandpa drifted into unconscious, losing control of the car. Armin, seated beside him, tried to steer the car away from the traffic, but Grandpa's foot was still on the peddle. They plowed the vehicle into a couple of other parked vehicles on the side of the road. The airbags were deployed, albeit slightly delayed, allowing Grandpa to smash his face off the edge of the driving wheel. Armin, who had been leaning towards the driving wheel in a vain effort to course-correct the vehicle, sustained his injury. It had all happened so fast that Armin trouble processing it. Armin had unbuckled himself from his seatbelt and attempted CPR on his Grandpa. He had no formal training, however, and not a moment since the accident occurred had the police arrived on the scene, having been informed by dispatch. 

Sheriff Hannes was the head of the Shiganshina Police Department, and with Shiganshina being a rather small town, did not necessitate such a large force, so Hannes was content to perform regular beat jobs about the area. He assessed the situation, checked if young Armin was okay and waited for the paramedics to arrive to help move old Gebhard Arlert from the vehicle.

Despite his efforts in the clinic's emergency room, Dr Grisha Jaeger could not revive Mr Arlert. He recorded the time of death for Mr Gebhard Arlert. 

Sheriff Hannes of the Shiganshina District Police came to the clinic to take some questions from the paramedics and Dr Jaeger on the nature of the car crash. They attempted to get questions by coaxing Gebhard's grandson. Armin, looking numbly at the floor, told them that his Grandpa was driving him home from Sinna, the capital, after having visited the Natural History Museum. 

"He said he had chest pains," Armin told the adults. "He had been using pills for his chest."

Grisha nodded. "Mr Arlert had complained of chest pains," he told the officers. "This was six months ago. I told him to check with me if the symptoms persisted. But that was six months ago. He had not mentioned them since, so I assumed they had subsided."

The Shiganshina Sheriff, Hannes, asked Armin if he had any next of kin. "Grandpa is my family." Armin half-whispered. Armin's parents had died in a plane crash when their son was two years old. Gebhard had been raising his grandson since then. As far as he knew, there were no other relatives. 

Grisha was a longtime friend and neighbour of the Arlerts and had known Armin since infancy. "If there's no one else in his family, then I'm willing to take the boy into my home. I have a wife and son who know him." Grisha switched his gaze to Armin. "If you'd like that?" The boy nodded.

\------

Later, Grisha drove a still-traumatised Armin to his grandfather's home so that he could collect some clothes and items. He helped the boy gather some clothes. Armin added several books in the bag and a framed photograph of his now-deceased grandfather and another of his parents. Soon, Grisha drove the car through several streets to his own house. 

Grisha had observed Armin as he helped the boy pack some things. That the boy was in shock was obvious. He had no other family than his now-deceased grandfather, and both parents had died when he was a toddler. Grisha wondered if he should track down any of Armin's relatives before recalling a conversation he had with Gebhard, who mentioned to him that Esther, Armin's mother, was herself an orphan. "I never knew the girl's family," Grisha recalled hearing from Gebhard telling one time when he brought his grandson at the clinic for a help check-up. "She was raised by the Convent Orphanage of Saint Rose in Orvud. She said there were no records of who her folks were." 

Suddenly feeling guilty of the idea of foisting Armin on to strangers during his bereavement, Grisha silently abandoned such ideas. The poor boy had no one else. He felt like he had to do the moral thing.

Grisha's wife Carla and young son Eren were surprised to see him leading Armin into their home. 

"There's been a...horrible accident today. So , young Armin here is going to be staying with us for the time being." Grisha announced. He gave on of the dufflebags to his son. "Eren, please show him to your room while I speak to your mother." Eren led the despondent Armin upstairs. Grisha took his wife aside to speak with her. 

"Gebhard died today," Grisha told his wife. 

Carla was horrified when Grisha related the other details. "And Armin was in the car with him?!" Grisha nodded. Carla lifted a hand to her mouth. "That poor boy," she whispered.

Grisha looked sorrowfully to the floor. "The kid has no other family. We've know him his whole life. Eren and him have always been friends. I don't think we can just send him to a foster home." 

Carla leaned against the wall and folded her arms. She looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure I can do that." She replied to her husband. "Sweet boy like that." 

Grisha removed his glasses. He chewed on the tip. "I'm considering applying for legal custody over Armin."

His wife nodded. "Yes," agreed Carla. "We'll both go to court tomorrow to sort this out." She and Grisha kissed.

The Jaeger's helped Armin settle in by inflatiing a spare mattress for him. Carla said she would place an order online for an extra bed in Eren's room for Armin. The family, with Armin as their guest, had dinner. It was pretty quiet as Armin was left to process his grief, so subdued as he was. Grisha mentally noted that the boy had barely uttered a word and seemed unaware of his surroundings since the accident. 

Later that evening, Carla put her son Eren and Armin to bed. She first kissed Eren. "Good night, sweetie." She told Eren. then Carla knelt over Armin on his inflatable mattress close to Eren's bed and laid a kiss on him. "Goodnight," she told him. "You're going to be staying with us, now."

Armin gave a small nod. "Thank you," he simply replied. The boy's voice was barely above a whisper.

Carla sadly gazed upon him and stroked his long yellow fringe from his forehead. She then switched off the light and closed the door behind her.

Eren, a nine year old boy with his father's green eyes and mother's tanned complexioned, leaned on his elbow and looked at his friend. "Armin," he muttered gently. "What happened?" Eren's parents had been silent on what happened to Armin's grandfather.

Armin was silent for several seconds. "My...", he paused, "my Grandpa crashed."

"Crashed?" Eren blinked.

"The car we drove in, we...," Armin paused again. "We were coming back from a museum exhibit in Sina. We were talking about dinosaurs, and then Grandpa started saying his chest hurt." Armin tailed off at the end. 

"Your Grandpa's chest hurt?" Eren asked.

Armin's eyelids started to feel heavy. "I told Grandpa to go straight to your dad's clinic." The blond boy said with barely a hint of emotion in his voice. "Grandpa said he's be alright. But...", Armin paused yet again. "But he was still hurting, then he fell asleep at the wheel. I took the wheel to drive us off the road onto some grass. But I couldn't move Grandpa's foot off the gas. We hit some cars. They were parked. I hit my head, I think."

Eren stared at Armin. "You have stitches on your head Armin."

Armin then frowned and reached a hand over his eyebrow. "Oh," the boy said, as he barely realised they were there. Eren, saddened at the death of Mr Arlert, curled up in bed. "You're going to be okay, Armin." He whispered. But Armin said nothing more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Jaeger's and Armin attend Grandpa Arlert's funeral. Armin handles his grief.

"Lord God, O' Creator and Redeemer," intoned the priest. 

The Jaegers accompanied Armin to his Grandfather's funeral. Sheriff Hannes, the Ackerman family; Derek, Yui and their daughter Mikasa were also in attendance at Saint Maria's Church in Shiganshina.

"Please accept our departed brother and Child of Ymir, Gebhard Enoch Arlert, into Your peaceful embrace. Gebhard was a humble gentleman and scholar. He was an active member of Ymir's Church. A cheerful giver to charity. A conscientious teacher of higher learning. And he was a loving guardian to his grandchild, Armin. Bless his soul, O' Lord and grant him eternity in Your Heavenly Kingdom. And we beseech thee, O' Lord, to grant peace and comfort to his grandson, who stands here today, in this time of sorrow and mourning."

Armin, flanked by Grisha and Carla Jaeger, gazed dully at the open casket where his Grandfather lay. It had been two days since the accident which claimed his life. The congregants in the church, clad in black; shawls for women and girls; skullcaps for men and boys, mourned their friend and brother-in-Ymir.

Eren, who stood beside his father caught quick glances at his friend. Armin had not so much as cried since he lost his grandfather, Eren noticed. The boy had been like a robot this whole time.

"Blessed are those who mourn," the priest continued. "For they shall be comforted."

Old Gebhard, a long time parishioner of Saint Maria's in Shiganshina, was well-respected in the community while he was alive. He had been a warden of the local church. Gebhard Arlert, a former mathematics professor at Sina University, had been the legal guardian and caregiver of his young grandson since both his son and daughter-in-law, both of them aerospace engineers, had died in a plane crash when Armin was two years old. He had nurtured the boy and educated him at home.

"Blessed are those who thirst for righteousness," said the priest, "for they shall be quenched."

The casket was closed before Armin, which elicited a subdued gasp from the boy. Armin instinctively reached out for the coffin. The past couple of days had felt to him like a waking dream. Grandpa Gebhard had always been a constant in his life for as long as he could remember. Now, that his beloved Grandfather was no longer there to guide Armin and care for him, Armin felt lost. When they shut the lid over his Grandpa's coffin, everything around Armin suddenly felt so real. This was the last time he would ever see him in the flesh, Armin thought desperately. It was unfair! Why did did his kind, gracious, wise Grandpa had to be taken from him. 

As the congregation exited the church, Armin was helplessly led out of the building. His baby-blue, saucer-like eyes gazed up at the coffin which was now being lifted outside.

The funeral procession was then led outside to the cemetary. They came upon a freshly dug grave on the hallowed ground. Dr Grisha Jaeger had volunteered to be one of the pall-bearers for Gebhard.

Walking beside his friend, Eren noticed Armin's breathing. His mother Carla noticed it too. Armin looked to be on the verge of a panic attack. Eren instinctively took Armin by the hand.

The pall-bearers, Grisha among them, began to use the ropes to lower the casket into the grave. Armin shook as they did this. Carla placed a sympathetic arm around the boy's slender shoulders. 

The priest then began another prayer for the departed Mr Gebhard Enoch Arlert. "Our Lord in Heaven," he intoned, "please, grant this soul of our faithful departed your mercy, light and peace."

Armin's face had turned red. A small whimper escaped his lips. Eren turned to look at his friend. And finally, tears spilled from Armin's eyes. Carla hugged the boy close to her body. Grisha, now standing beside his wife, lay a comforting hand on Armin's head.

"Lord, we pray for those we love," the priest continued. "Who have gone before us in faith, who may know Your forgiveness for our sins. And in the blessings of eternal life in the light and companionship of Blessed Ymir, Our Mother, and with all the Saints and Angels in your Heavenly Kingdom. For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen!"

A now sobbing Armin gave his parting words from his trembling lips. "I love you, Grandpa!" 

And when all was said and done, the ceremony ended. Everyone gave their condolences to the late Gebhard Arlert's grandson.

\-----------

Back at the Jaeger house, Armin sat on the couch as Carla hugged the boy close to her body. The boy was still sobbing, though he was quieter than he was at the funeral. Carla and Grisha gave Armin all the time he needed to grieve. But Eren wanted to know why Armin did not cry during the previous two days. 

"He was in shock, sweetheart," Carla gently told her son. 

Eren was curious why it took so long for Armin to weep for his grandfather. Later, when both had been put to bed, Eren ventured to ask his friend why he didn't cry until today. 

Armin collected his thoughts. "I..uhm...couldn't believe it happened."

"What?" Eren responded. 

"I thought it might all be a dream." Armin told him. "A bad dream! Grandpa has always been here." The blond boy felt tears well around his eyes. He sniffled but thought to control his sadness. 

Eren reached out his hand to clutch Armin's. "You're here with us, now! "The older boy told his friend firmly. "Mom and Dad say they want to adopt you. We're gonna be brothers," Eren smiled. 

Armin smiled back through his tears. "Zeke's your brother though." 

"Yeah. But he spends so much time away from us. He lives with our Grandpa Herschal and Grandma Nadia in Liberio. He's a resident-surgeon over there. He considers Liberio to be his real country." Eren stated all this ruefully.

Armin gazed at his friend. "I'm sorry," the boy said simply. 

Eren blinked. "Why are you sorry?"

"That you don't get to see your brother."

The brown-haired boy shrugged. "Zeke's way older. You're more like a brother to me, Armin." 

The blond by smiled. "Thank you," he half-whispered. 

Eren grinned and squeezed his hand. "No problem!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First Day at Trost Academy. Ms Rico Brzenska gives her class a test in Eldisch spelling and grammar.

Carla Jaeger took Eren and her foster-son Armin to Trost, the larger town north of Shiganshina. The drive took half-an-hour on Highway 30. Eren rode shotgun next to his mother, with Armin seated at the back. The blond boy shuddered at the memory of the car crash which took place five days ago. But he managed to keep his grief under control. 

Carla, glancing at the rearview mirror, saw Armin involuntarily flinch. "Are you okay, sweetie?" 

"I'm okay," Armin replied, somewhat distantly. 

Mrs Jaeger made a detour to Trost Academy; the school Eren attended. The beginning of school term was due next week. After which they went to the store where Eren got his school uniform: a dark green blazer and V-necked sweater of the same colour, both of which had the rose bud and wing motif of Trost Academy sewn onto them. Also part of the uniform were black suit trousers, white collared shirt and a green and black-striped tie.. Armin was measured for his uniform before the purchases were made. Afterwards they went to a cafe to eat. 

"So," Armin began, "Trost Academy is also a high school?" 

"Yep," Carla replied cheerfully. "Ages five-to-seventeen. I think you'll do well there." Armin had been home-schooled by his grandfather for all his life. Gebhard, a lifelong educator and scholar, a university lecturer and author of textbooks, did not see anyone fit to nurture his keen-minded grandchild better than himself.

"I still don't know why your..." Eren started before pausing thoughtfully, "well, your Grandpa never let you go to my school." 

"He said to me that he could do the job just fine himself." Armin replied with a hint of sadness in his voice. "I don't know if he was right or wrong to think that, but....I don't know. Maybe it'll be fun." 

"Well, I think you'll do okay," Carla told Armin encouragingly. "You're a bright kid and you've got my Eren with you. And Mikasa's carpooling with us, not bad huh?!"

"Yeah!" Armin replied with a smile.

\----------------

By the beginning of the following week, Carla drove Eren, his friend Mikasa Ackerman and her foster-child Armin to Trost Academy. Carla was fortunate to find a placement for Armin in Eren and Mikasa's classroom.

Carla Jaeger parked outside the school gates and kissed her children. "Have a lovely day," she told them happily before driving off. 

Eren, Mikasa and Armin walked on to the grounds of Trost Academy. The trio strode through the school yard. A tall, olive-skinned boy with black hair and freckles approached them. "Hi Eren, Mikasa." 

"Oh, hi Marco," Eren greeted amiably. 

"Whose this? Is he your friend?" Marco pointed at the third member of their partner. 

Eren proudly tapped Armin on the shoulder. "This is our friend and neighbour, Armin Arlert. Armin, this is our friend, Marco Bodt."

Marco smiled as he shook the smaller boy by the hand. "Please to meet you," Marco said enthusiastically. 

"Yeah, you too Marco," Armin half-whispered nervously. 

"Armin's a little shy," Mikasa told Marco. "It's the first time he's ever been to a school."

"Really?!" Marco said in unfeigned amazement. "Wouldn't he need some catching up or something?" 

"He was home-schooled," Eren told Marco, "by his grandpa before....he passed away." Armin's face dropped downward. Eren gently clutched the blond boy's shoulder. 

"Anyway," Mikasa added, "Armin's pretty smart. He knows lots of different things."

"Well great!" Marco smiled. 

They then headed to Form G-9, their classroom. The teacher present was a slightly-built, bespectacled woman in her late-thirties with pale purple-dyed hair. She was named Ms Rico Brzenska. 

"Armin, would you like to introduce yourself?!"

Armin stood from his assigned desk and gave a nervous wave to his new classmates. "Hi, I'm Armin Arlert. I live in Shiganshina." The boy told the the class in a subdued, shy voice. 

"Is there anymore about yourself you'd like to tell the class, Armin?" Ms Brzenska coolly pressed the boy.

"I...um...I like reading and drawing." Armin told the class awkwardly.

Ms Brzenka smiled thinly. "That's fine, Armin. Take your seat." 

Armin sat down. Some other student seated in the row behind Armin hissed "nerd" behind him. He did not deign to look around, though he noticed that Eren whip his head around furiously to glare at the other boy, who had light brown hair, brown eyes and a long, sardonic-looking face. "Shut up, Horse-Face," he muttered irritably. 

"Come on guys, don't do this," whined Marco Bodt, who sat beside the boy whom Eren branded as "Horse-Face".

"That's enough!" Ms Brzenska cut in. "Now open your Eldisch textbooks to page six and seven. We will be brushing up on our grammar, this morning. You have twenty minutes before I tell you to stop."

The class did as they were bid and started filling out the blank captions in their textbooks below the instructions. It took Armin under three minutes to fill out. 

Ms Brzenska noticed that Armin was the first student to put down his pen. "Have you finished there?"

Armin nodded his head. "Okay, bring it over." 

Armin rose from the desk and gingerly approached Ms Brzenska's desk. "Thank you, just put it there," she muttered distantly without taking her eyes from the other students. Armin laid his textbook on the desk and returned to his seat.

Within nine minutes of the start of their test, Mikasa finished her work. "Good girl, just bring it up," Ms Brzenska ordered the girl. 

It took Eren until two minutes before the end to be finished with his test. "Okay, Eren, bring it here," ordered Ms Brzenska.

By the end of the morning test, Ms Brzenska cleared her throat. "Alright, Connie Springer and Sasha Braus, put your pens down." The teacher told the two remaining children who were behind the others. 

"Aww..just a minute, Ms," cried a skinny boy with a crew-cut. 

"Now, Connie!" Ms Brzenska replied forcefully. Connie and Sasha, a tall girl with auburn hair, marched to the teacher's desk to place their textbooks.

Brzenska allowed the students to talk amongst themselves while she marked their work.

"Mikasa," called Ms Brzenska. "Your score is 92%. Well done." 

Mikasa stepped forward to reclaim her textbook. 

"Marco, your score is 94%. Good work."

"Thanks, Miss!" Marco said before rising from his desk to reclaim his textbook.

After a minute of marking other students work, Brzenska got to the boy Eren dubbed Horse-Face. "Jean Kirstein, you got 71%. I know you can do better than that."

Pouting, Jean rose from his desk to claim his textbook.

"Eren Jaeger, you got 65%. I really need you to step it up."

Eren sighed. "Okay, Miss."

"Yeah, well, I know you can do better," rejoined the teacher as Eren retrieved his book. 

"Historia Reiss, you got 70%. I expect better from you."

"Yes, Miss." Said a petite girl with long, blond hair and big, blue eyes like Armin said as she approached Brzenska's desk.

"Goodness me, Sasha, 41%?! I expect better, child." 

Sasha Braus, a tall girl with auburn hair and brown eyes nervously approached Brzenska's desk for her textbook. 

"Good Lord, Connie! You've only got 28%. I can barely read any of this."

Connie Springer, the small boy with the crew-cut, shrugged nonchalantly as he approached the desk to retrieve his book. 

"No point shrugging, Connie! This is serious, I may have to refer you to remedial studies, you know."

"Okay, Miss." Connie replied woodenly as he grabbed his textbook.

"Okay," Ms Brzenska sighed. "Armin, is it?! Sorry, son. Just bear with me as I check your work." 

It took Brzenska a couple of minutes to double and triple check Armin's work. "I don't believe it!" She finally said.

"What's the matter, Miss?" A snide Jean asked. "Did the new kid tank it?" This earned him a deathly glare from Eren. Mikasa rolled her eyes at Jean's crassness. Marco scowled at his friend Jean and shook his head disapprovingly. Armin looked nervous and fretful. Maybe he did screw up, he thought.

"I don't recall any kid scoring 100% before. Just let me check again."

Many of the children in the classroom gasped, then gazed at Armin. 

"Yep," said Brzenska finally. "I've seen enough. Get your book, Armin. See that? First day in school, and not so much as a single spelling or punctuation error! What school did you go to before you came here?" She asked Armin as he grabbed his book. 

"This is my first school, Miss." Armin told her. "My Grandpa used to teach me, before he...." Then Armin looked sadly at the floor.

"Oh!" Brzenska said, taking the hint. "I'm sorry! Well, he clearly was a very good tutor. Anyho, excellent work!" Armin gave a small smile before returning to his desk.

"I'll let you all go before the bell rings for morning recess. And when you come back, we'll be reading the first chapter of Wilhelm Schüttelspeer's Hochsommer Nacht Traum." 

A couple of the kids groaned. "Yeah, enjoy you playtime now," Brzenska teased her students. "Because I'm going to torment your souls with some classical literature."

Out in the schoolyard, Armin, Mikasa and Eren sat on a low wall opposite a field with Marco, Jean and Connie. 

"So, you've never been to school before?" Jean asked Armin in an incredulous voice. 

"No, never!" Armin replied earnestly. 

"So, you could sleep in as long as you wanted?" Marco asked.

"No. Grandpa made me get up between 6-7 in the morning."

"But...you got to be in you pyjamas when he gave you lessons, right?" Connie asked Armin. 

"Um...yeah, sometimes. Why?" 

"Oh man! That would be so mint!" Connie sighed.

"Why do you want to be in your pyjamas all day?" Eren asked Connie. 

"Don't know, just do," replied Connie. 

Jean yawned and stretched his arms. "I wish I could sleep in all day." 

"I don't think so," Eren snarkily told him. "You need to have your stable cleaned out sometime, Horse-Face."

Jean scowled. "Shut up, Jaeger!" The long-faced boy told him in bored, dismissive voice. 

"I wish you two wouldn't fight so much," Marco gruffly told them. 

Mikasa, a tall girl with dark features and partial Hizuru heritage, lifted an arm around the smaller Armin's shoulders. "This is what you've got to deal with every day," she muttered to her younger friend light-heartedly.

"Do you fireman's carry Eren here too," Armin asked with a grin. 

Mikasa giggled. "You tell me!" The girl leaned down, holding Armin's wrist in one hand and hooked her other arm around his leg and lefted the boy off the ground. Armin laughed as Mikasa spun him around.

Jean smirked at that. "Can I have a go?"

"No!" Mikasa replied. "You're too heavy."  
\-------------

Armin thought his first day at an actual school went well, as he related to his foster-parents. 

"I like it there," Armin told Grisha and Carla Jaeger, though there was a note of hesitation in the boy's voice. 

"No one gave you any trouble, then?" Carla urged him. 

"No," shrugged Armin. Besides, Eren and Mikasa were there. I got no trouble from anyone. 

Grisha smiled and affectionately rubbed a knuckle across the boy's right cheek. "Good to hear, kid. Now, why don't you help Eren set the table?! Dinners nearly ready." 

"Okay," grinned Armin. 

The family ate together as they spoke more about school. 

"A 100% on your grammar test during your first day?!" Grisha beamed. 

"I was just lucky, I guess," Armin blushed. 

"Well, don't sell yourself short, sweetie," Carla to her foster-son. "That was a good first impression." She turned to Eren. "What was yours, dear?"

Eren shrugged before placing a piece of chicken in his mouth. "Sixty-five percent," the boy said in a nonchalant voice. 

Carl drank some wine. "Not bad, but not great either. Do you want me to help you with homework?" 

"Armin can help me," Eren said confiedently.

Carla rolled her eyes. "Well, as long as he only HELPS you, as opposed to you have him do all your work for you." 

"What do you mean?!" Eren demanded with a note of alarm in hi voice.

Carla sighed. "I know because Mikasa says as much; that she ends up doing mostof the work, while you play on S-Box. I'm your mother, dear, I know you better than you know yourself."

"You're supposed study by your own efforts, son," Grisha added. "Not by someone else's efforts. It's not fair on you or them."

"Okay," Eren sighed. 

"We do believe you're capable of whatever you set your mind at," Carla told her son kindly. 

"I don't mind helping out..." Armin started before Carla cut him off. 

"So long as you ONLY help him and not do everything for him."

After the plates were put away, Eren and Armin sat at the dining table to do their homework, which was to outline the first chapter of Hochsommer Nacht Traum." 

Eren smirked. "This fairy, Puck," the boy started saying. 

"Yeah?" Armin prompted as he looked down at the page he was writing. His blond bangs flopping downward at the page he was reading. 

Eren sniggered. "His name sounds like..."

"Don't you dare say it Eren!" Carla called sternly from the kitchen, demonstrating either sharp hearing or strong motherly intuition of her son's juvenile antics.

"Ahhhh, never mind!" Eren muttered sulkily. 

Armin grinned. "It's still funny, though." The boy whispered.

Eren grinned back. "Hells yeah!" 

Armin's baby-blue eyes scanned the page. A mischievious smile spread across his lips. "Queen Tit-tania," he whispered very softly. 

Eren snickered and slyly nodded his head in response. "Nice one!" 

The two foster-siblings continued with their assignments.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin struggles in gym class, but excells in math class.

Grisha Jaeger moved more things from the late Gebhard Arlert's home into his garage. He brought into the living room a couple of photo albums containing not only baby pictures of Armin, but also those of his late father, Max Arlert and photos of his wife and Armin's mother, Esther. There were also photos of old Gebhard as a younger man along with those of his long-dead wife and Armin's grandmother, Gyda. Some documentation was also found by Grisha within the albums.

"Arminius Amadeus Arlert," Grisha read his foster-son's birth certificate out loud.

Eren smirked. "What's that?!" 

"Never you mind, Louis." Carla playfully used her son's middle name in mild reproof. 

Eren scowled. "Why did you guys pick THAT name for me? It looks like I'm called 'Louise'."

"I guess there was a part of me that wanted a girl," replied Carla playfully.

"Aww Mom!" Eren whined petulantly, which earned him a pinched cheek from his mother.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with Eren Louis Jaeger, is there?!" Carla smiled.

Armin came down from his and Eren's shared room. He noticed the old family items. "You got them, then," the boy stated casually." 

"That's right, Arminius Amadeus," Eren smirked teasingly. 

"You know, I always liked Lou-isssss myself," Armin playfully snarked back. Eren scoffed.

"Alright, boys, that'll do," Grisha them mildly. "Best that Louis and Amadeus, here, get themselves ready for school."

\-----------

At the schoolyard, Eren and Armin, with Mikasa in tow, continued their earlier conversation that morning. 

"I'm not sure I like being called 'Triple-A'." Armin complained. "I sound like a battery."

"Come on, it's better than E-L-J," retorted Eren. 

Armin thought about that." What if it was rendered as 'EL-J'?" 

"Hmm," Eren considered it. "Maybe that could work." He tapped Mikasa on the arm. "Hey, what do you think of 'EL-J'?" 

Mikasa removed her earphones. "Huh?" 

"Eren's trying out a new nickname." Armin clarified for her. "He wants to be called 'EL-J' now, because they're the initials in his name."

"Well," Eren began, "more like I want to see if it works for you." 

"'Eren' works for me," replied Mikasa. "Anyway, 'E-L-J' are your initials."

"I know that," sighed Eren. "'E-L' spells 'El', then you add the 'J'. El-Jay! See?"

Mikasa smirked. "Sorry, I'm still calling you 'Eren'. End of story!"

Jean Kirstein approached the trio. "Hi there." The boy greeted them. 

"Hey, Jean, what do think of 'El-J' as my new nickname?" Eren asked him eagerly. 

"Why," asked Jean. "Is 'Butthead' already taken?" 

Eren scowled at his sort-of friend's quip. "Screw you, then, Horse-Face."

Jean smirked. "What the hell does 'El-J' mean, anyway?" 

"Armin here thought of it," replied Eren. "They're based on the initials of my name."

"Hey, brainiac!" Jean regarded Armin. "His name begins with an 'E'." Armin shyly looked down at his feet.

"Leave him alone," snapped Eren in Armin's defence. "My initials are E-L-J. 'E-L' spells 'El', so it's "El-J". It's catchy."

"What's the 'L' stand for, then?" Jean asked. 

Eren hesitated nervously before replying. "Uhm...Louis." 

Jean's eyes widened. "Whaaat?!?" 

"Yeah, whatever! Laugh it up, asshole." Eren told him defiantly.

But instead of laughing, Jean looked horrified. "Your middle name's 'Louis'?"

"Uh...yeah?!"

"Holy shit," said Jean. "Louis is MY middle name!"

Eren stared at Jean in shock for a full ten seconds. Then, a wicked smile spread across his features. "HA-HA-HA-HA! A Horse-Face and a LOU-EEEESSSS!"

Jean sneered at him. "Fuck you, Jaeger! You just told me that it's YOUR middle name too!"

"Eat shit, Louise! Eren grinned broadly. "I'm El-J, now!"

Mikasa and Armin laughed. Jean gazed at him in disbelief. "God, you're a moron!"

"No! I'm El-J, and you're Lou-eeesssss!" Louise the horse! Shall I polish yer hooves, Little Horsey?"

"Whatever. Eat shit, Jaeger!"

"Neigh-eh-eh-eh! Neigh-eh-eh-eh-eh!" Eren teased him.

"Well, if I'm a horse, I'll shit on you from a great heigh 'El-J'!" 

It was then that the school bell rang and the children retreated indoors. The registrar was taken by Ms Brzenska before she led them to the assembly hall. Armin noted that the hall's seating capacity was enough for a thousand students and staff. It was indeed like a small stadium. 

An old, bald-headed man with a trimmed moustache approached the podium. "Good morning, all!" He said cheerfully through the microphone. 

"Good morning, Principal Pixis!" The student-body replied in unison. 

"And welcome to the beginning of the new school-term for this year." Pixis replied. 

The Paradian school year began in early Rosarary, the second month of the Eldian calendar. The summer break would occur between Septuary and the last day of Octorary, the seventh and eighth months of the year during the height of summer. The secondary term of the Paradian school year would last from the first week of Novemary until the second week of Duodecimar, in winter time, before the Ymiramas Holidays. 

Armin thought back to Ymiramas a couple of months earlier. Most of them up to this time were spent with his Grandpa. Thinking about him always brought tears to his eyes, so the boy hurriedly cuffed them away. 

Mikasa looked at Armin, noticing his discomfiture. "Are you okay?" The girl whispered. 

"I'm fine," replied Armin. He then heard small noises coming from her. "Are you listening to music right now?"

Mikasa gave a sly smile and put a thin finger to her lips. Her earphones were concealed by the girl's long, black hair.

"What are you listening to?" Armin whispered.

Mikasa placed on of her earphones into Armin's ears. 

"Shooting at the Walls of Heartache  
"Bang bang!  
"I am The Warrior! I am The Warrior..." 

Mikasa then briskly removed it from Armin.

"I like it," smiled Armin. 

Mikasa grinned back. She then quickly glanced around at Ms Brzenska, seated eleven chairs from where they were seated, and motioned for Armin to remain quiet. If Brzenska overheard the two children, she made no sign of showing it.

The jovial Principal Pixis continued at some length with his announcements for the new school year before stepping back from the podium to make way for Pastor Nick, the School Chaplain and member of the school board of governors. The good pastor gave a sermon on fellowship, using the Parable of the Shepherds in the Holy Book as inspiration. 

This was followed by the hymn of Mother Ymir's Grace, then followed by a prayer, where the assembly joined hands. At the end of that, the assembly were dismissed by the principal. 

\-----------

An hour before lunchtime, the boys in Armin's class went to the gymnesium's lockerroom and changed for P.E. 

A young, short-statured man with wavey, dark brown hair and stern, dark eyes supervised the boys in the gymnesium. The P.E. instructor put them through their paces. He made the boys run from one end of the gym to the other, climb the rope and engage in tug-of-war. 

Unfortunately for Armin, he had never before done physical exercise. He was slower and more awkward in his movements than the other boys. He lacked the upper body strength to climb the rope. He ran awkwardly from one end of the gym to the other, with the gym instructor irritably shouting at him to pick up the place and clapping his hands after Armin. At a couple of points during the exercise, the blond boy tripped on the gym floor. 

Some of the boys shouted angrily at Armin, while others jeered the boy. 

Armin pushed on despite the difficulties he had. But thirty-six minutes into the lesson, Armin, who was in tears, started having a sharp shortness in breath and collapsed on the floor. The gym teacher, named Mr Levi Ackerman hurried to Armin's side to assess the situation. 

"Do you have ashma?" Levi asked, almost snapping at Armin. 

The boy tearfully nodded. Eren skidded forward and took his friend by the arm. "There's an inhaler in his bag, sir."

Levi helped Armin to his feet. "Carry on," he told the other boys. He took Armin and Eren to the locker room. Eren took the inhaler from Armin's bag and gave it to his friend. Armin took several hits on the inhaler. 

"Take it slowly," Levi said, more gently than he was in the gym. "Deep breaths." 

Armin's breathing slowed down. "Good grief kid," said an exasperated Levi. "Why didn't you say earlier you had ashma? I wouldn't have driven you as hard in there if I knew." 

"I...didn't think...it would be an issue...sir." Armin told Levi in between gasps. 

The gym teacher sighed. "Well of course it would be an issue. Have you even done P.E. before?" Armin shook his head. 

"He was homeschooled sir." Eren told Levi. "He used to live with his grandpa until a couple of weeks ago. He's moved in with my family since his grandpa....you know...passed away." Eren placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. 

Levi patted Armin on the elbow. "Well, I am sorry to hear that." He stood up. "Look, you might as well rest up in here, since the lesson ends shortly anyway."

Armin nodded. "Okay, then," said Levi. "Come on, Eren." 

When gym class was over, the boy's started changing back into their regular uniforms. 

"Are you okay, Armin?" Marco asked the boy sympathetically. 

"I'm fine," replied Armin in a tired voice as he buttoned up his shirt. 

Jean glanced irritably at Armin and shook his head. "My god, Armin! Have you ever played sports before?" 

"We kick a ball around the park at home, but he gets tired easily," Eren told him. "He's got ashma." 

"You should have told Mr Ackerman you had ashma," Jean moodily told Armin. "Do you want to get him in trouble?" 

"Lay off the kid!" Marco reproved his friend. "He didn't know how it works here. Give him a break."

"Yeah, Jean, who made you Mr Ackerman's deputy," Eren asked sharply. 

"I'm just saying, guys. And who are you, Eren: Armin's mom?" Jean retorted.

"Enough, please," snapped Marco. "We're fine! Armin's fine! Mr Ackerman's not gonna get in trouble. Right, Armin?!"

"I won't get him in trouble," promised Armin. "And Jean's right, I shouldn't have kept it to myself."

Jean nodded. "Well, okay then." He dropped the matter there. 

\-----------------

After lunchtime, the Form G-9 class headed to the Maths Department, which to Armin's surprise, was taught by Mr Levi Ackerman from P.E. class. 

Mr Ackerman gave an ever-so-brief glance in Armin's direction before starting the lesson. "Right," stated in a bored, supercilious tone. "Today, kids, we're going to brush up on our understanding of multiplications." Half the children in the class groaned despairingly. 

Levi took a stack of papers from his desk and started to pass them along the rows of desks. "This is to check if ANY of you brats have retained any knowledge of what I've been teaching you last year." Levi stopped at Armin's desk to hand him a copy of the multiplication test. "Think you can do that?" Levi addressed the class while keeping his dark-eyed gazed fixed on Armin. The blond boy timidly nodded. Levi gave him a thin, curt smile before moving to the next pupil. "Start in your own time, boys and girls!" Levi called out "You have one hour." 

The class picked up the pens and calculators as they started the test. Armin, not bothering with the calculator, confidently scanned the problems on the sheet. Grandpa Gebhard was a mathematics professor, so he had enthusiastically tutored his grandson every day of his life. 

Armin smiled at the memories of his grandfather, who had made the subject fun and magical to him. With little puzzles, games and magic tricks, his grandfather had always challenged Armin's understanding and nurtured the boy's curiosity in the sciences and the natural world. "Understanding the universe and its mysteries is to understand the Mind of God, Armin," Grandpa Gebhard would sometimes say, which made Armin both happy and sad at the same time. 

Armin completed the fortieth and last question on the maths test almost eleven minutes into the test. He put down his pencil and leaned back in his chair. Soon, Mr Ackerman's eyes caught Armin. "I said you had one hour to do this test, boy," growled Levi.

Armin instinctively sat upright in his chair in response to his teacher's tone. "It-it's done, sir!" 

Levi Ackerman rose from his chair and stepped over to Armin's desk. "Already?!" Levi asked incredulously. 

Armin nodded nervously. Levi leaned down as he scanned the sheet and ticked every one of Armin's sums. "Did you use the calculator I provided?" 

"No, sir," replied Armin in a small voice. 

"Really," said Levi, who swiped the calculator from Armin's desk pressed some buttons. "Okay then, tell me what 18x12 is!" 

Armin thought about it for a couple of seconds. "It's two hundred and sixteen." That was the answer on the calculator in Levi's hand. Some of the students looked up from their tests to observe the exchange between the teacher and student. 

Levi made another sum on the calculator. "Alright, Short-Pants, what is seventy time forty?" 

Armin thought about it. "Two thousand eight hundred, sir." 

Levi stared at Armin. "What is 67 x 92?" 

Armin thought about if for up to ten seconds. "I think," Armin trembled, "it's 6164, sir. I think that's right."

Mr Ackerman carried out the same sum on the calculator. The result was confirmed. There was an intimidated look in Levi's eyes. Every child in the classroom was gawping at Armin like he was some alien creature. Levi looked about the classroom. "Back to work!" He told them sternly. He walked back to his desk, fished out some other test sheets, and dropped them on Armin's desk. "Can't have you sitting idle while your classmates work their pencils to the nub," Levi told the blond boy. "Keep yourself busy and work those out." 

"Will I be graded on those too, sir," asked Armin. 

"No, but as I said, I can't have you sitting there doing nothing as they're still struggling through it. I don't like teacher's pets anymore than they do. You don't have to complete them all, just, you know, stay busy!"

Mikasa grinned at Armin before resuming her work. Marco looked impressed. Eren beamed proudly at his blond friend. Jean, Conny and Sasha and the other kids continued to stare at Armin. 

Levi noticed the gazes and slapped his hand on his desk. "Back to work, I said!" He told the class tetchily. "Eyes down, brats!" 

By the end of the lesson, the last of the students handed in their work to Mr Ackerman, who then dismissed the class. 

"Armin Arlert? Stay back minute." Armin and the teacher waited until the rest of the pupils filed out. 

"Levi held up the extra work he gave Armin earlier. "I did tell you that you didn't have to complete them."

Armin shrugged helplessly. "I'm sorry sir, but time dragged in here and I needed to take my mind off it. You also said to look busy, so..." The boy tailed off.

"Hmm," replied Levi. "Kind of a maths prodigy, aren't you!"

"If you say so, sir," said Armin weakly, feeling like he was being interrogated. 

"I say so because you are, Mister Arlert," Levi replied firmly. You're at least good at something. Don't expect me to excuse you from P.E, mind you."

The boy shook his head. "I would never ask that, sir. I know I've been missing out. I want to get better at it."

Levi nodded. "I should hope so. I expect to see your heart and soul put into your athletic efforts. No special treatment for you. Even if you are smarter than the rest of these brats." 

"Yes sir." Armin nodded. 

Levi gave him a thin smile. "Good boy. Also, before you go, don't be helping these kids with their homework assignments, or, God forbid, take them home with you and do it for them! They'll take advantage of you and get lazy in their own activities. No matter how nicely they ask you, no matter what they offer you in return; I'll be mighty peeved if you do them any favours. And I'll know just by looking at their work. Understand, Arlert?!" 

"Yes sir," said Armin again. 

Good lad," replied Levi. "Now, buzz off, so I can grade these papers and clock out." 

Armin stepped out the classroom, where his friends we're waiting for him. 

"Conny smiled. "So, Armin, I'm willing to pay you five paradisos if you can do my homework....."

"I SAID NOT TO HELP THEM!" Levi's voice shouted through the doorway. 

"Sorry Conny," said Armin. "But I'm too scared of Mr Ackerman."

"Oh okay, I get that." Conny said sadly. 

Sasha reached into her bag for a sausage roll before handing it to Armin. "Please, do mine..." 

Mikasa wrapped her arms around Armin's chest from behind. "Leave him be!" She hissed to Sasha. "Come on, it's nearly home time," she told Armin. 

Jean just stared at the blond boy. "What...are you?! A math android?" 

Marco gasped. "Jean, be nice!" 

Eren scoffed at Jean. "Stop gawping at my friend and eat another carrot, Horse-Face!" 

The children departed the building to the car park.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin comes to an understanding with Jean during art class. Zeke Jaeger is on vacation and returns to see his family in Shiganshina.

One Month Timelapse.....

"Come on, boys, let's see some hussle!" Levi Ackerman shouted as he clapped his hands.

The boys in the gymnesium were climbing the ropes. Levi had made the boys dispense with their shoes and socks to toughen their feet against the ice cold of the gymnesium.

Connie Springer was the first to reach the top before falling to the three-foot thick crash mat below. Eren Jaeger Jaeger, Jean Kirstein and Marco Bodt were close behind. Armin Arlert was barely midway up. 

"Come on, Armin!" Eren shouted encouragement. "Just like we practiced." 

Armin still struggled through physical activities, but he was showing some improvement in his performances. He and Eren would practice at home by climbing over walls and trees. Armin genuinely wanted to improve his physical fitness and not shame himself in front of his classmates. 

"Remember," Eren continued, "pretend your escaping a roaring fire beneath you."

"Yeah, Eren, big help!" Armin grumbled furiously as he worked to pull his weight up the rope. Armin thought to use his anger to fuel his ascent; focusing his frustration into his arms as he grabbed and grabbed repeatedly at the ropes to whole his puny body upward. 

"That's good, Armin," Marco called encouragingly. He himself was nearly at the top. "Really pull at it!" 

"Nrrrgggghhh," grunted Armin furiously. He was breathing fairly hard, but remembered Levi telling him not to over-tax himself. "Through the nose!" He kept telling Armin for weeks. "Always breath through the nose. Otherwise you're just gonna tire yourself out, then you'll panic and struggle for air." Armin did his best to follow that advice.

"Use those feet, Arlert!" Levi called from the bottom. "Baby monkeys make this look easy." 

Armin pressed his bare feet together on the rope and held it as he clambered upward. 

"Yeah, Armin. Like that! You're doing it, buddy!" Eren, who was already at the top, shouted happily. He then curled up into a ball and fell to the crash mat like Connie before him, then quickly followed by Jean and Marco.

Armin finally reached the top, to the cheers of his friends on the ground. The boy afforded himself a short smile, but then gasped in fright when he looked downward and saw how far the drop was. 

"Come on, Armin, drop!" Connie shouted. 

"Drop down," shouted Levi, so we can move on." 

"Curl up, Armin!" Called Eren. 

Armin whimpered fearfully at the top. Tears pricked at his eyes. 

"Do it, Armin!" Marco called up.

"For God's sake, Armin, snap out of it and hurry the hell up!" Jean shouted impatiently. 

Armin levered up his legs, holding on to the rope with all his strength and steeled himself. 

"Shall I climb up after you..." Levi called up, but Armin had already curled up into a ball and let go of the rope and fell to the crash mat. 

Levi helped the boy to his feet. "Good lad! Knew you could do it." Levi congratulated him. Eren, Marco, Conny and some of the other boys clapped at Armin's show of bravery. 

"Right," started Levi. "We've another ten minutes left of this. After which you boys hit the showers." 

After P.E, the boys took a quick shower, with Armin, Jean and Marco sharing out their shampoo bottles. Five minutes, Armin, Eren, Connie and Marco were clad in their towels and resting aroundone of the radiators to help them dry off. 

"That was impressive of you today," Eren happily told Armin. "Really top form!"

"Thanks, Eren!" Armin replied just as happily.

"You have five minutes to get changed," shouted Levi Ackerman through the doorway to the gym. "Don't dilly-dally!"

The boys hurriedly dried themselves of, dressed in their regular uniforms and when the bell for midday lunch break rang, hurried to the dinner hall on the west side of the academy premises. 

"He climbed that rope like a monkey," Eren told Mikasa of Armin's performance in gym class. 

"Well, more like a sloth than a monkey." Armin said modestly.

"Oh, stop that, Armin. You did great in there!" Eren replied. 

Sasha slowly edged her face to the end of the lunch table where Eren, Mikasa and Armin were eating. She noticed one of the ham sandwiches in Armin's lunchbox.

"Um, Armin...are you eating that?" Sasha pointed at his sandwich. 

Armin briefly glanced at it. "I plan to," the boy said simply.

"It's just that I've been watching and for ten minutes," said Sasha, "you haven't touched it in all that time."

"What happened to your lunch?" Asked Armin innocently. 

Sasha laughed nervously. "I eat things to quickly."

"Aren't you full?" 

"I'm never full," declared Sasha. "So come on, Armin. Help a growing girl out, would you?!" 

Mikasa groaned. "Oh, buzz off Sasha! It's every meal time with this nonsense."

"Aww please, Armin..." Sasha whined.

Shrugging, Armin splits the second sandwich in half, but Mikasa clamps a hand around the smaller boy's wrist before he can hand the food to Sasha. 

"No!" Mikasa tells Armin. "You're a growing boy, too. And Sasha needs to control herself. " The dark-haired girl switches her glance to Sasha. "Stop begging!" Sasha, rebuked, looks down gloomily. 

"Don't feed Sasha," muttered Mikasa to Armin. 

"Are you my mother?" Armin dared to say.

Mikasa stared at the blond kid. She had turned ten a couple of weeks earlier, making her one of the oldest in her grade. "Yep!" She replied in a pseudo-whimsical tone. "Mrs Jaeger may be your mom at home, but at this school, I'm your mom. Ain't that so, Eren?!"

Eren nodded eagerly. "Yes ma'am!" The green-eyed lad said a little hurriedly. Mikasa was weird and could even be scary. Everyone played along with the girl's accentricity; or else! Seeing the look in the older girl's eyes, little Armin felt chills down his spine.

Mikasa withheld the weirded out stares of Connie, Marco and Jean. "All shall obey the will of Mikasa Ackerman!" She declared. Connie gulped while Jean and Marco averted her eyes and continued eating. 

\--------------

Art class was with Ms Nanaba, a tall, thin woman with short blond hair. She had put the students into pairs to work on their assignments. She had arbiterally decided who should go with whom, so Armin found himself paired with a grouch like Jean.

"They don't mix like that," complained Armin. 

"I know what I'm doing!" Jean shot back. "I've painted pictures since kindergarten."

Jean's choice of oils and colours, though, did not combine as he had desired. "Maybe more water should help," mused Jean. But all it did, was thin the texture pf the mixed paints, turning it into a watery bron stain.

Armin sighed despairingly. "What did you think that mixing red with yellow and blue was going to accomplish?" 

"I thought it was going to give the green a darker shade, protested Jean. 

"All we needed to do was paint grass. You gave us a muddy field, instead." Armin snarked. 

"Well, you know what? Go work with your boyfriend, Eren!" Jean hissed at the smaller boy. 

"Sarcasm is unbecoming of you, Jean." Armin muttered. 

Jean snorted. "Whatever! At least I don't look like a girl." 

Armin, red faced, starred at Jean for a good long while before turning on his heel and stalking out of the art department.

Jean turned back to his work. The boy closed his eyes and sighed deeply before turning around to follow the blonde boy down the corridor outside. 

"Armin, wait up." But Armin kept walking. Jean raced up after him and stopped him with a hand to his shoulder. The other boy glowered at him. "Look," started Jean. "I'm sorry I was mean to you." 

"Okay," replied Armin in a grumpy tone before shaking Jean's hand off him and resuming his course. 

"Hey, I'm sorry I upset you." Jean cried out again. 

"Okay!" Armin called back.

Jean was exasperated. "So...will you come back to class with me?" 

Armin sighed. "I'm going to the toilet." 

Jean shrugged and kept following. In truth, he needed to relieve himself too. He followed the younger boy to the boy's toilets. Jean took position beside Armin at the urinals. Armin glanced fleetingly at Jean, being a little dismayed at Jean's seeming weirdness. Both boys urinated beside each other. 

"I AM really sorry, you know," continued Jean. 

"If you say so," replied Armin indifferently. 

"I haven't been nice to you. I know that!" Jean paused. "I know that you're a little...nerdy, but..." 

Armin glanced up at him sharply. "Nerdy?!"

"Well," hesitated Jean. "Well, I mean you. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. It's just, you know, I've known you for a month and, except gym class, I've never seen you struggle with school work. You always seem to know what to do and get everything right on the first try. I thought, at first. you were a creep and a teacher's pet. But, I suppose I'm just...jealous I guess." 

After pausing too long at the urinal, Armin went to the wash basin to clean his hands. 

"So," Jean pressed him, "we're good, right?"

"Sure," Armin nodded distantly. 

Jean sighed and washed his hands before following the younger boy back to art class. Approaching from the opposite end of the corridor was a taller boy with short, blond hair who greets Jean. 

"Hi there, Cakes. How's things?"

Jean, sighed. Armin stopped in his tracks to witness the conversation between them. "You're the only one who still calls me that," complained Jean. "I'm not so fat anymore."

"And those kids aren't still bullying you, right?" The other boy asked him in a more sombre tone.

Jean shook his head. "Not for lack of trying. I do my best to avoid them and stick around with friends of mine."

"Yeah exactly," the older boy replied with a measure of sympathy. "More friends, less bullies huh?!" The boy then shifted his gaze to Armin. "Is he one of them?"

Jean turned to his classmate. "Armin, this is Reiner Braun. Reiner, Armin."

Reiner, the older boy shook hands with Armin. "Pleased to meet you, Armin."

"Likewise," smiled Armin. "Higher grade?" The younger boy asked. 

Reiner shrugged. "Seventh grade, Form E-3. Mr Xaver teaches us. Just like I tell Cakes here, surround yourself with friends, and the bullies in this school will avoid you. Trust me, it took me a while to figure that out." 

Armin gazed at Reiner. "Someone's bullied YOU?!" He found it hard to believe that a big kid like him could be picked. 

"Bigger kids than me around, here. There always are." He waved to Jean and Armin. "Watch out for those Form D-12 boys. They're bsolute psychos, for sure. See you guys around."

They got back to art class. "How are we going to save this?" Jean mused on their joint assignment. 

Armin touched his finger to the paper. "It's dried, so maybe we can get a light green colour to cover the field with."

"Will that work?" Jean asked, who was clearly doubtful about it. 

Armin bit his lower lip. "Well, if it doesn't, at least we'll fail together."

Jean chuckled. "Not worried about you're grading?" 

"I know I haven't been here as long as you, but art isn't something where your grades matter. It's just to keep us busy for part of the day."

"Well," began Jean, "the picture here we drew up isn't so bad, it's just the paint mix I got wrong."

Armin scooped some yellow paint on the mixing tray before adding a smaller dash of blue to create a soft shade of green. "We could paint over the rest of it, while leaving the darker clumps. We could tell Ms Nanaba that this field looks the way it does after it rained. You think she'd buy it?" 

Jean shrugged then nodded. "Worth a try," he finally said. The two boys then began to rectify their earlier failure. 

\---------------

Carla Jaeger drove Eren, Mikasa and Armin home to Shiganshina by 1600 pm. After Mikasa was dropped off at her parents' house, they found Zeke Jaeger, a tall man of twenty with fairly long, dirty-blond hair and a beard, and Eren's older half-brother, waiting for them in the living room. 

Carla smiled on seeing her step-son. "I thought you would be coming a day later?" They hugged and kissed. 

"So did I," replied Zeke. "A buddy of mine at the airport told me to re-book with another flight." He caught Eren who flew into the young man's arms.  
"Still not tall as me, bro."

"I'm better-looking then you, though." Eren laughed. 

Zeke's gaze switched to Armin. "And this must be my new little brother!" 

Armin waved gingerly. "Hi, Zeke." 

Zeke stepped toward the small, blond boy and picked him up in an embrace. "A little brother for my little brother! Now, you have someone to boss around."

Eren pulled off his uniform sweater. "He's only ten months younger than me and we share classes."

Zeke sat down on the sofa. "Hey, Armin. I heard about your gramps. My condolences." 

Armin nodded solemnly as he draw out a book from his backpack. "Thanks Zeke." 

Zeke remembered attended a lecture by the late Professor Arlert at Sina University two years, before he took up his residency at Liberio Medical College. The elder Arlert had officially retired five years before, but had come to Sina as a guest-lecturer. Unfortunately, Zeke had dozed off during the lecture (due to staying up late the night before). But Professor Arlert apparently noticed and made subsequent encounters between the two an awkward affair. 

As Eren and Armin did their Eldanisch homework in the living (with Armin most helping Eren), Zeke watched a baseball game on TV before his father returned from work. He spotted Zeke on the armchair. 

"Hey, sushine!" Dr Grisha Jaeger greeted his firstborn happily. 

Zeke smiled as he lifted himself to his feet and hugged his father. "Keeping busy, Dad?" 

"A town full of folk keep me busy. How's Liberio? Your grandparents? Your Aunt Faye? 

"Liberio's fun as ever. "Grandpa's taken me under his wing at med school. Grandma's arthritis is acting up. Faye thinks she may get that promotion to bank manager by months end." 

Grisha chuckled when Faye was mentioned. "Well bless her heart, she's worked hard for it." He turned to his other sons. "How's school, you two?" 

Eren spoke up. "Armin managed to climb the top of the rope in gym today. I'm getting B's in Eldanisch."

Their Jaeger patriarch nodded. As he sat in the other armchair. "Well, terrific!" 

\------------

The Jaeger family sat around the dinner table. Grisha, Carla and Zeke did most of the talking between them. 

"Gramps and Grandma have been asking you to visit them again sometime." Zeke told his father. 

"Its not for lack of trying, son. "I'm the only physician for miles, and it's hard to find a substitute on short notice. You know how it is." Grisha told him. 

"And I appreciate your situation, Dad. But come on, this is your family. You can make time for them, right?" 

"You speak as though I'm deliberately avoiding them," said Grisha mildly. "I only get one day off a week, and even then I'm expected to respond to an emergency there at a moment's notice."

"It's been...what," persisted Zeke, "two? Two and-a-half years since your last visit? Why procrastinate?! 

Grisha sighed. "Son, can we not do this here?!" 

"Dad, they think you resent them or something."

"Well, then they should know better than that," insisted Grisha. 

Carla, Eren and Armin sensed the tension between the two men, but continued to avoid eye contact. 

"I see," responded Zeke with a tight expression. "You've time to adopt a new kid, but not for the rest of family!" 

Grisha's eyes shot up furiously. Carla gasped. Eren scowled at his older brother. And Armin nervously went quiet.

Grisha's mouth curled in suppressed anger. He cast his gaze from his firstborn for an instant. Sighing, the Jaeger patriarch wiped his lips and rose to his feet. "I want to talk to you in private," he finally said and ushered Zeke into following him to the garage. He gently patted Armon the arm before leaving the dining room with his eldest. 

Eren glanced at Armin before stabbing his fork into chicken breast. "Don't sweat it, Armin," the boy muttered. "They always end up arguing when they're together." 

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Carla asked Armin gently. 

The boy nodded. "It's fine," the blond child said as he tried to look nonplussed. 

Grisha angrily gestured for Zeke to enter the garage before slamming it behind him. The elder Jaeger started pacing with barely-contained fury before sharply raising his gaze at him. "What the HELL is wrong with you?! Grisha demanded of his son.

Zeke, who by now realised his intemperent statement, looked regretful. "I'm sorry I came out like that...", he began. 

Grisha sucked in air through his teeth. "Look, whatever problems we have with each other, don't you dare take it out on Armin! Do you understand?! Poor boy's just lost his grandfather. I chose to adopt him. He has no other family. And your resentment isn't going to make me think twice about that choice. Go get married and have children before you ever question my decisions on family. Also, Zeke, I WANT to see Mum and Dad again. I am NOT beating around the bush here. Unless your willing to spend your vacation Shiganshina filling in for me at the clinic, then that's the circumstance I have to deal with."

Zeke nodded. "Alright then! I will substitute for you here while you can see our folks in Liberio."

Grisha nodded. "Maybe, had you been more thoughtful, those should have been words that came out of your mouth back there."

"Will you contact them tonight?" Zeke demanded. 

"Oh, I'll tell them. But not because you told me to." Grisha went for the door berfore looking at his son. "I love you, Zeke. But sometimes, you can be a petulant little brat, even as a man. Grow up! Go to your bedroom. It's as you left it. Hopefully, this should tell you that I do have some regard for my family."

Zee scowled. "So, you're basically putting me to bed?!" 

Grisha shook his head. "I'm really trying not to curse at you right now, boy." I'll tell Carla and the boys that you're jetlagged and maybe that will assuage the mood in this house." 

Grisha then yanked the door open and returned dining room. Zeke took himself to bed. 

\----------

Armin and Eren went to bed three hours after dinner. Armin sullenly lay under the covers while Eren sat up in bed while watching a movie on his laptop. 

Thee brown haired boy glanced over at his friend. "You sure you don't mind the volume?" 

"Sure," replied Armin bleakly. 

Eren sighed. "Again, I'm sorry about Zeke. Every time he's here, him and Dad always end up fighting." 

Grisha knocked on their bedroom door. "Boys?" 

"Come in, Dad," called Eren. 

Grisha entered the bedroom. He looked down at Eren. "Okay, champ?" Eren smiled and nodded as his father leaned down to kiss him. He then went over to Armin's bed and ran his fingers though his long, blond hair. Armin rolled over to look at his step-father. "And how are you doing, kiddo?"

Armin nodded. "I'm okay, sir." The boy told him in a grave but respectful voice. 

Grisha sat on Armin's bed. "So, kids. I've spoken to Grandpa, and, within the next fortnight, we will be flying to Liberio on our long overdue visit to Grandpa Hirschel and Grandma Nadia. We'll be there for five days." He turned to Armin. "Ever been to Liberio?" 

Armin shook his head. "Not Liberio. I've been to Lakua once. There was Slava, too. And Hizuru. I remember that was fun." 

Grisha nodded as he smiled. "Well, about earlier. Don't mind Zeke. Him and I have some issues between us. He wasn't mad at you. Don't worry about it." 

"I'm okay, sir." Armin told Grisha, who smiled at the bright-eyed boy before leaning down and kissing Armin on the top of the head. "Good boy." 

Grisha rose from the bed and turned to Eren. "As soon as your movies done, get some sleep son." He leaned down to kiss his son. "Sweet dreams, children." He closed the door behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One week before the Jaeger's go on vacation to Liberio. Armin is heckled by bullies. Zeke has drinks with Tom Xaver and Levi Ackerman. And Mikasa has sleepover with Eren and Armin.

It was 7:15 AM and Armin, still in pyjamas was brushing his teeth after Eren's turn in the bathroom. Behind him, Zeke appeared at the entrance and knocked to get the young boy's attention.

"Can I talk to you for a minute, kid?"

Armin spat in the sink and glanced at Zeke. "Okay," he replied. 

"About yesterday, said Zeke uneasily, "I didn't mean for to...um...get the impression I was mad at you or resented you in anyway. I was annoyed at my Dad, not you. I spoke without thinking, so I..." 

"It's okay," interrupted Armin. "It's family stuff, I get it." 

"Yeah, well, your now part of our family, Armin." Zeke told him firmly. "You're just a kid, and I should have chosen my words more carefully. Also, I'm a stepchild too, as far as Carla's concerned." Zeke sighed. "It's hard, isn't it? Spending part of your life with someone you love until they're gone, then getting used to a different parent in your life. I took ages to warm up to Carla. Although, you were lucky in a way; you knew both her and my Dad, and Eren, for years until they adopted you."

"Maybe," stated Armin. "But Dr Jaeger tells me the adoption papers haven't come through yet." He spat in the sink again.

Zeke smiled. "Do you still call Dad 'Dr Jaeger'?" 

Armin shrugged. "I usually call them 'sir' and 'ma'am'. Grandpa used to tell me that it was..um...presumptuous? Yeah! He said it was presumptuous to call grown-ups by their first names. Also, I feel like it's also presumtuous to call that 'Mom' and 'Dad'. Sometimes, I feel like I'm...," the boy sighed. "I don't know...like I'm intruding on this family." 

Zeke gave a soft chuckle. "You're very smart. Anyone ever tell you that?" 

Armin glanced back at Zeke before cleaning up the remnan tooth paste before putting his toothbrush away. "Everyone tells me that. I might be, but at times, I sort of feel like I'm the stupid one." 

"Yeah, mused Zeke. "I understand that feeling. I'm glad Eren took you for a friend. I think you'll fit in nicely as a Jaeger."

Armin smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Zeke."

Zeke shook the nine year old by the hand. "You're welcome, sport! Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna need this bathroom for five, maybe ten minutes, so if you don't mind..."

"Okay," giggled Armin.

\-------------------

Zeke offered to drive the kids to school that morning, so that Carla could open the restaurant early. Mikasa, who lived across the street from the Jaeger house, turned up at the front door ten minutes before they set off for Trost Academy. 

"So," started Eren, "you two have kissed and made up, then?" 

"Well, we didn't kiss," replied Armin, which got a laugh from Zeke. "And there wasn't anything to make up for." 

"What's this about?" Mikasa asked. 

"Nothing," Armin told her. "Just a bit of awkwardness over dinner. 

"Oh," said Mikasa, who then put in her headphones. 

"Are you driving us to school school out of guilt, Zeke?" Eren asked.

His older brother sighed. "No, Eren, I just want to see my old Alma Mater." 

"Alma wha-what?!" Eren said in confusion. 

"'Alma Mater', Eren," Armin told him for clarification. "It means 'nourishing mother' in Old Eldanisch. People use it refer to the old schools." Eren nodded his head in understanding.

Zeke grinned. "I said you were smart." He turned the minivan a corner as to approach the highway to Trost. "Tom Xaver still works at the school and I wanted to drop in an say hi while in Paradis." 

Armin's blue eyes lit up. "Mr Xaver? He's the teacher of Form E-3."

"Oh, well that saves me a task of fiding him," said Zeke. He merged with the highway. "You've met him, then?" 

"Not really," replied Armin. "But a friend of Jean's, Reiner I think, said yesterday that he's in his class. 

"Is that 'Ox' from seventh grade." Eren asked. 

"He's called 'Ox'?" Armin responded in an amused tone. 

"Well, if you've seen the kid, he's like an ox."

"He was," Armin agreed. "Apparently, Jean was called 'Cakes' because he used to be fat, or so Reiner said."

Eren laughed. "Ha! I'd forgotten about that. He'll always be 'Horse-Face' to me, though." 

"Who's Horse-Face?" Zeke asked Eren. 

"Jean? He's this annoying, beady-eyed kid who tags along with my friends. He's more like Marco's friend than mine, anyway." 

"And, he looks like a horse or something?" 

"He's got a sort of long," put in Armin. That's why Eren calls him that."

"I mean, I offered him carrots and sugar cubes, so it's not like I'm being rude to him," said Eren. 

Zeke howled with laughter. 

\--------------- 

The students were called to assembly that morning. Principal Pixis announced that the new indoor swimming pool was now available for classes to take place there. Pixis also warns the assembled students of drugdealer being spotted operating outside the school gates and children should report to staff immediately if he is to approach them and offer them illicit substances. 

From across the hall, Mr Tom Xaver of Form E-3, left the assembly after apparently seeing a text on his phone. Both Eren and Armin, sitting side-by-side, silently concluded that the seventh grade teacher received the text from Zeke. 

"How is Zeke friends with Mr Xaver?" Armin whispered. 

"Xaver used to coach baseball and Zeke was top of that class," replied Eren. "He used to stay back after school hours for extra practice. He was in regional championships and everything." 

"So they bonded over that?" 

"It's weird, you know, being friends with a teacher. Then again, Armin, you're pretty much friendly with all the teachers. Even that sourpus Mr Levi likes you."

"He's always growling at me." Armin whispers in protest.

"I always took that as a sign that he likes you. Otherwise he'll pretend you don't exist. You and Mikasa always have his attention. In math class, anyway." 

Principal Pixis announced the forms that were scheduled for pool class for the day. Among them was G-9 class, which elicited cheers from the children in Ms Brzenska's class. After the announcements, Pixis stood aside for Pastor Nick, the school chaplain, who led the assembly in sermon and prayer. 

Armin looked about him. Mikasa sat quietly, oblivious to the sermon with her ipod earphones in place. Eren had all but nodded off, with his head dangerously close to leaning on little Armin's shoulder. Jean rested his chin on his hand, looking very bored. Marco, along with Sasha and Historia, were bright-eyed and alert to the sermon. Connie was fiddling with a loose piece of threading on the end of his sweater's sleeve. And Ms Brzenska was idly texting, with her phone carefully hidden from view. 

Armin tried to pay attention to Pastor Nick's sermon of the deeds of St Sinna, though the precocious child's thoughts drifted elsewhere. He wondered if Grandpa or his long-dead parents were really watching over him in Heaven; being embraced by Holy Mother Ymir and the Lord Himself. The Jaegers attended the same church every week as his grandfather had in life. Armin dutifully observed the proprieties as Grandpa Gebhard taught him, but since the latter's death, he did not feel his heart in it anymore. He was not angry with God for taking his grandfather, though he harboured an immense grief at his loss. Tears pricked at his eyes, making his carefully wipes the corners of his eyes. 

"And our Saint Sinna stepped among the assembled elders of the Heruskers to bring the Word to them, and the Heruskers did listen." Pastor Nick intoned in the assembly hall. "Her sweet voice allowed the Heruskers to open their hearts to the Word of Our Lord. And they confessed their faith in Him." 

Eren, sleeping on Armin's shoulder, drooled on the sleeve of his younger friend and foster-sibling. Armin sighed upon seeing the drool. He tucked his right hand inside his other sleeve of his sweater to wipe Eren's drool from his left arm.

"Holy Sinna is brought before the King of the Herusker," continued Pastor Nick. "...And the King, named Arminius, had his heart touched by The Lord, who has always known the Herusker, as they had anciently known Him as the Allfather. Knowing that Holy Sinna was an Apostle of The Lord, the king spake thusly; 'you are of the Allfather and speak with his voice'. And King Arminius led the assembly of Heruskers in kneeling before Saint Sinna and begged her for God's forgiveness and blessing. And so the Heruskers were united in faith with their brothers of the Eldian Nation..." 

Armin pondered if he was descended from his namesake. It was entirely possible, given that most Eldians in the world today can trace their maternal lineage back to a woman named Ymir who lived some two thousand years ago. In that sense, he and Eren may be more related than they thought.

The assembly finished with a prayer and Armin nudged Eren into wakefulness when it was over. 

"You drooled on me." Armin murmured. He showed Eren the wet stain on his sleeve. 

"Oh, sorry bud!" Eren yawned. "God, that was boring!" 

"Did you enjoy your nap?" Armin asked him quietly. 

The brown-haired boy nodded. "Yep, I definitely needed that." Eren noticed that his lips were wet and felt patches of saliva on his chin and sweater. "Ah, Ymir!" He cursed. 

\---------------

Form G-9 went to the indoor swimming pool. Teaching the class was Ms Zoe Hange, a smart and excitable youngwoman in her mid-twenties who headed the Science Department along with being a qualified swimming department. She was also a student of Sinna University and studying for her doctorate in Biology. The students leapt into the pool for, with Zoe dangling her feet into the water and watched. 

Jean and Marco were pleasantly surprised to see Armin gleefully dive head-first into the water and swim as ably as any of the other children. 

"Who taught you to swim?" The freckled boy smilingly asked the smaller blond boy after he breached the surface. 

"Grandpa taught me." Armin smiled back. 

"And I thought you sucked as sports," chuckled Jean.

Armin shrugged. "It wasn't a sport for us. Grandpa would take me swimming at least twice a week." The long-haired boy allowed himself to fall backwards under the surface, with his feet visible for a second before following the rest of his body. 

Eren burst out from under the water; clamping both arms behind the necks of both Jean and Marco before dragging them underwater. 

Mikasa and Historia swam after Armin under the surface. They caught up with him, with Mikasa tickling him under his armpits and sides, while Historia grabbed Armin by the ankle and playfully tickled the boy's foot. Armin laughed and swam to the surface for air. He kept giggling as he feebly tried to shake the girl's off him. 

"I told you he was easy," laughed Mikasa to Historia as the dark-haired girl wrapped her arms around the younger boy's waist. Mikasa rolled around in the water and kicked her legs to propel herself backwards, using Armin for buoyoncy. 

"I'm going to sink!" Armin called out as the water level rose to engulf his mouth and nostrils. 

Mikasa, realising her larger size and weight was dragging them both down under the surface. The girl released him, while blonde and blue-eyed Historia, who just about resembled Armin but for being a couple of inches taller, latched on to his ankles and began tickling him again. 

Armin's high-pitched, squeaking giggles sounded across the water to Zoe Hange, who smiled. "Don't let him go! Show him who's boss!" Zoe playfully called out to Historia.

Laughing hard for over a minute suddenly had Armin gasping for air. Mikasa took notice and patted Historia on the shoulder. "Stop!" 

Historia looked from a serious-looking Mikasa and back to a desperately gasping Armin. "What's wrong?!" The blonde cried out.

Taking notice, Zoe slid into the pool and swam towards the children. "Bring him over here!" The girls handed Armin to their teacher, who dragged him to the edge of the pool. Zoe lifted the young boy on to the strand. "Deep breaths, now." She told him gently.

Armin slowly inhaled and exhaled. He forced breath through his nostrils as Mr Levi Ackerman told him in gym class to counteracts his ashma. Zoe smiled and gently rubbed back. 

Historia was aghast and close to tears. "I'm so sorry, Armin! I forgot about your...!" 

"It's okay!" Armin interrupted the blonde. "So did I. It....happens sometimes," reassured Armin between gulps for air. 

Eren, Marco and Jean swam to the edge of the pool. "Armin, are you okay?" A worried Marco asked. 

"Armin, what happened?!" Eren cried out. Mikasa put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay, bud?" Jean asked. 

Armin, smiling weakly, lifted a placating hand. "Guys, I'm fine. I just got a...a bit carried away. Everything's fine. We're all fine!" 

Hange patted Armin's knee. "Let yourself rest a couple of minutes, okay?" The blond nodded. But not a minute passed before Armin dived back into the water to play with his friends. Armin followed Connie up the nine-foot diving board and boldly dived off the edge, as though he trying to prove himself. 

Zoe Hange had to take Armin aside to remind the boy to take it easy. "You've had an ashma attack a few minutes ago." Miss Hange told him. 

"But I'm fine," insisted Armin obstinately. 

"Well, I need to make sure you stay fine." Hange insisted firmly. "You're going to get yourself worked up at the pace you're going." 

Armin sighed sulkily, his face crestfallen from being babied. "I hate my ashma!" 

Hange gently ran her fingers through the boy;s long, wet hair. "Aww...I know, honey. Listern, just don't go diving and rushing around like before." 

After their time was up at the pool, the students went to the lockerrooms, stood briefly under a warm shower, then went to their respective alcoves to dress up. 

Eren took a moment to text his brother, who messaged him to say that they were at Hoover's Diner, several streets from the school. "Zeke's still with Mr Xaver," he told Armin, who was putting on his tie. 

"Are we meeting him after school?" Armin asked. 

"Yeah, he just said to come over," replied Eren. 

"Has Mr Xaver just been over there all morning?" Armin asked incredulously. 

Eren grinned. "It's Mr Xaver! He gets away with everything. Zeke told me once that he had 'tenure' or something." 

"So he can come and go as he likes?" 

The older boy nodded. "I think so; something like that." 

Armin took his inhaler from his bag and took in some air. He tied his shoelaces before picking up his sports bag and following Eren from the changing rooms. Both boys stopped briefly to be greeted by Reiner Braun of Form E-3. 

"Hi Eren. And, uh, Armin right?!" 

"Oh, Reiner, hi."Eren greeted the boy. Armin waved. 

Reiner grinned. "It's colder than a polar bear's nipples. Or so my uncle likes to say. I hope it's warm in their." 

"Sure is," chirped Armin. "Showers are even warmer." 

Reiner clapped his hands. "Praise Ymir! See ya around, guys."

\-----------------

Armin sat between Eren and Jean in the dinner hall. The boy knew that the latter two had a vitriolic friendship, to say the least, though he doubted his small frame was a sufficient barrier if the two decided to squabble again, which they unfortunately did during lunch break. 

"Friends with a teacher?!" Jean hooted. "Who would still be visiting his old teacher?" 

Eren grimaced at Jean's scathing words. "You say that like it's a bad thing." 

Jean smirked. "Your older brother's a teacher's pet, and your foster-brother's a teacher's pet..."

"Hey," pipped up Armin. "It's not like I seek to get their approval. I just take my studies seriously." 

"Right, right, right..." Jean waved down the smaller boy. "We get it, brainy kid. Say, Eren, why are you the only kid in your family who isn't such a brainiac?" 

Eren, chewing on a cheese-and-ham sandwich, shrugged nonchalantly. "Mmmph...I'm smart enough as I need to be." 

"The fuck does that mean?" Jean asked with the straw from his juice box between his teeth. 

"It means that not everyone is as book-smart as Armin or Zeke. It's fine by me, though. Armin's a nerd, I'll always get help with my homework from him. And my Mom runs a restaurant, so I'll probably be working there." 

Marco spoke up. "Are you okay with being called a 'nerd', Armin?" 

"I am a nerd, though." Armin stated as nonchalantly as Eren. The label never offended Armin in the least. 

"Doesn't that blond kid look like a girl?" Some kid in the background yelled out in conversation. 

"Maybe we can stick a hand down there to find out?" Chortled another. 

All eyes locked on to two 8th grade students; one of them was a tall thirteen year old boy with light-brown hair and a perpetual smirk. His companion was a squat, overweight kid with dark, curly-brown hair and mean, beady eyes. Both were glancing at the table occupied by Armin, Eren, Mikasa, Jean, Marco, Sasha and Connie. 

"Philip Marx! Lazlo Ignatiev!" A female teacher shouted their names. The sharp, reproving voice belonged to one of the form-teachers; Ms Rico Brzenska , who furiously marched up to the two delinquents. Her body language brimmed with outrage. "You're coming to the Dean of Discipline's office. Now!" 

"Uh-oh!" Connie muttered. "Mr Shardis is going to kick their asses." Mr Keith Shardis was Trost Academy's Dean of Discipline who's name and reputation inspired fear among the students. He was legally authorised to administer corporal punishment. 

Eren patted Armin on the shoulder. "Don't go anywhere near those cunts," he half-whispered. 

"The fuck you looking at, Braun?!" Shouted Marx at Reiner, who walked past the 8th-graders as they were led out of the dining hall by Miss Brzenska. 

Brzenska turned to face Marx. "Watch your mouth!" She barked at the insolent student.

"Stay close to us," muttered Mikasa from across the table. "They're idiots, but God help you if you find yourself alone with them." 

"Do they still call you 'Cakes'?" Connie asked of Jean. 

Jean scowled. "First off, shut up about that. And second; don't say the C-word in front of Sasha." 

Sasha smiles nervously. "Uh...yeah! Seriously, do any of you guys have cake on you?" 

Mikasa frowned. "I just saw you munch a cupcake a couple of minutes ago." 

Sasha giggled in reply. Her soft, brown eyes lingered on Armin. "Come on, Blondie, you have something left, don't you?"

Armin showed Sasha that he only had a banana remaining. Sasha lunged forward for the fruit, only for Mikasa to catch the other girl around the waist. "For the love of God, Armin!" She sighed. "Either eat it or put it away. Her hunger NEVER ends!"

Smirking at Sasha, Armin hurriedly peels the banana before scarfing it. Then, he passes the skin to Sasha who, with no thought to how her behaviour appeared to her friends, started nibbling on the banana skin. 

"Good grief, Sasha," cried Marco. "Are you right in the head?!" 

Mikasa glanced up at Marco and swirled her finger around beside her head. 

"She'll be right at home in a zoo," scoffed Jean. 

Connie tried to pry the banana skin out of Sasha's hands, but she growled at him, compelling the smaller boy into backing off. 

"I'll get her a cupcake next time," smiled Armin. 

Mikasa cocked an eyebrow before shaking her head at the younger boy. "Please, don't encourage her, Armin. You're making her worse."

\---------------

After final period, Eren, Mikasa and Armin, Jean and Marco walked out into the car park. They were greeted by a stocky woman who stood in wait outside her car. "Jean-boy!" She greeted her son. Eren and Mikasa stifled their snickers, with Jean glancing around to flash them the stinkeye.

"Mom," greeted back Jean. 

"Mrs Kirstein," greeted Marco. The both got in the car, with Jean hopping into the front seat. 

The trio then went to Hoover's Diner several streets away from Trost Academy. Inside, at the smoker's section of the diner, Zeke Jaeger greeted them. He was seated beside Mr Tom Xaver, a middle-aged man with lank brown hair and black-rimmed glasses. And beside Mr Xaver was their maths teacher, Levi Ackerman. Zeke ordered food for his younger brother Eren, Armin and Mikasa as the three children sat opposite to him and the two teachers.. 

"So, Levi," started Zeke, "you and Mikasa, are you relatives?" 

"No," replied Levi flatly. Mikasa simply shook her head.

"So, Eren," said Levi, "this jackhole is your big brother, right?!" 

"A 'jackhole' who won ten paradisos from you in poker," snarked Zeke.

"All afternoon with this!" Xaver grumbled as he put out his cigarette. 

"You know how to hustle, I'll give you that."Levi told Xaver's friend.

As the children received their meals, two older boys entered the diner. "Hey Phil! It's that blonde girly kid from earlier."

"Shit!" Philip Marx drawled. "I want to find out if there's a muff on that one." They sauntered towards the table Armin sat. 

"Yo, Blondie?!" Lazlo Ignatiev shouted table, who all turned or raised their gazes at the pair. "Are you a girl? We're curious."

Zeke glanced towards Armin and smirked. "My-my, you're popular." 

"Ignore them, Armin," warned Mikasa in a low voice. 

But Ignatiev and Marx, on seeing the cold and dispassionate gaze of Levi Ackerman, started to look nervous. "Oh, it's you cunts!" Levi noted in a chilled, nonplussed tone. 

Marx's colour rose at being addressed thusly by the head of the math department. "Teacher's shouldn't talk like that to students." 

Levi casually blew out a smoke ring in the air. "Little cunty brats should mind their fucking manners around grown-ups. Now fuck off! You're disturbing my free time with your stench of B.O, cheesy quavers and weed." 

"Fuck off yourself, you goddamn midget!" Ignatiev stupidly shouted at him. 

Glowering, Levi turned back to face the two boys and glared at them like a hawk preparing to swoop down on a field mouse. "What did you just call me, cock-breath?!" Levi asked the two in a dangerously low voice.

"Levi, don't..." Xaver cautioned, but the younger teacher gently patted his hand away before rising to his feet and approached the two thirteen year olds, who towered over the maths teacher by seven and eight inches respectively. Neither of which intimidated Levi. 

"D'you jokers want to step outside and repeat that shit to my face, pussies?!" 

The two boys quailed slightly in Levi's stolid presence before a lady with a white apron and a tanned complexion made her way around a the tables. "What this about? If there's a fight happening here, then I want you to leave the premises. Now!"

Levi's cold, hard gaze never leaves the boys. "Nothing will happen, so long as these idiots apologise." 

Marx and Ignatiev finally cave in. But before they retreat, Marx blows a kiss at Armin. "See ya, little princess!" They both stormed out of the restaurant. Both Mikasa and Eren glared at the retreating boys, as Armin gazed down in embarrassment. 

The diner's manager, named Agnis Hoover, headed back to the kitchen. Levi went back to his seat. "Little shits," he muttered under his breath. 

Eren rose from his seat, redfaced and ready to follow them. But Zeke pointed at Eren to stay seated. The twenty year old stabbed out his cigarette. "Nature calls, gents, back in a mo." He stated tersely, but instead of going to the toilet, Zeke headed out of the front entrance of the restaurant. 

Xaver sipped at his coffee. "These buggers were in my form-class last year. They get worse and worse."

"Scum of the earth!" Levi agreed mildly. He lifted a chip off his plate to munch on it. "Don not," he glanced at Eren, Mikasa and Armin, "turn out like those wastes-of-space," Levi warned them. 

Zeke briskly stepped into the restaurant, breathless and with both hands in his pocket. He slid back into his chair. "I suggest you kids finish your meals quickly before I get you home." 

Eren raised his eyebrows when he noticed a blood stain on one of his knuckles. Zeke saw his little brother's eyes and surreptitiously reached into the remains of his drink to remove the stain. Xaver glanced at Zeke's knuckles but said not a word. Xaver would have done what Zeke did if he was younger and faster, while Levi plainly did not care. 

"Okay, we're off!" Zeke hugged Mr Xaver, who reciprocated. "Catch you later, Tom!" He fist-bumped Levi. "Look forward to our next game, Levi." 

Levi puffed on his cigarette. "Don't be a stranger," he drawled casually. Both teachers, having effectively slacked off for the better part of the school day, we're due to go back and formally clock out for the day. 

Zeke, with Mikasa, Eren and Armin in tow, left the diner and headed to the minivan in the school car park. 

"Did you kick their asses?" Eren asked excitedly.

Zeke merely chuckled and tapped the end of his nose. "Discretion is the better part of valour, little bro." He turned around to gaze at Mikasa and Armin. "You know how to keep this quiet, right?!" 

Both children nodded. Smilingly, Zeke pointed both fingers at them. "Good kids!" He unlocked the minivan and stepped inside, with Eren sitting in the front. Zeke started the engine, put the radio on a station he like, then drove the kids back to Shiganshina. 

\-------------------

Mikasa Ackerman was granted permission by her parents for a sleepover at the Jaeger house on this Friggday evening. Mikasa nipped over to her house across the street to change out of her school uniform and grab her laptop, nightgown and a Hizuru-made blanket called a "futon". 

Carla and Eren brought out the inflatable mattress for their guest. Mikasa entered the living room to find Armin on he couch, still in school uniform but for a pair of sockless feet propped on the pillows behind him. Lying on his belly, Armin was reading Godfrey Chaucer's Acrifa Tales, which Ms Brzenska had assigned for Eldisch class that day. 

Mikasa sat on the couch as Armin made room for the older girl. "That's what we're supposed to be reading?" Mikasa asked. 

"Yeah," grunted Armin. 

The dark-haired girl yawned. "Might I trouble you to do my homework for me?"

"Lazy!" Armin replied. 

Smirking, Mikasa playfully prodded the small blond boy in the ribs, making him giggle. "Enough lip outta you!"

Armin dropped his book while he shook with laughter. "Aw geez, you just made me lose my page, Mikasa." 

Grinning, the girl grabbed his foot and tickled his bare heel. Armin yelped weakly. "Please, Mikasa! "The blond panted. "Not after what happened at the pool."

Mikasa gently relented. "Sorry."

"It's okay." 

"Can you do me this favour, though?" 

"Okay, I'll write some notes on it," said Armin. "It can't look anything like my work, with my handwriting and diction. Ms Brzenska will mark us both down for cheating." 

Mikasa frowned. "Dick-son?" 

The boy chuckled. "No! Dic-tion! The way you word a sentence or your writing-style."

"Oh!" Mikasa nodded. "Okay, so like copy you, but write it like I would write it?" 

"Yep, like that." 

The girl pressed a pale finger against Armin's button-nose. "Thanks." Mikasa paused before putting a hand on his.. "Hey, about those kids at the school and restaurant today, being mean to you....don't go anywhere near them, okay?" 

"Okay," nodded Armin." 

"Seriously," she continued, "those kids are animals. Stick with me and I'll keep you safe. You and Eren are dear to me." Mikasa ran her fingers through the boy's soft, long, golden locks. 

Armin flashed the older girl one of his sweet, innocent smiles. 

Eren skipped down the stairway and dropped on to the sofa beside Mikasa, both lying over Armin's body like a cushion. Mikasa tucked her legs beside her on the couch as she leaned on the brown-haired boy, who was accustomed to Mikasa's clingy ways since they were four years old. 

"What are we watching?" Eren asked. 

"Looks like a gardening show," responded Mikasa. 

The both turn to loon upon Armin. "Are you watching this?" Eren asked him. 

"What?" Armin looked up from his book to the TV. "No, Mrs Jaeger was watching it before. Looks like a recording." Armin pointed to the lit red dot on the DVR. 

Eren grabbed the remote control and clicked through the channels page until finding his fabourite cartoon: Titans Attack! The green-eyed boy happily hummed the theme tune. 

Zeke came through the front door with shopping bags in his hands. He walked through the living room past the children before glancing at them. 

"Why are you two sitting on Armin?" Zeke asked with a frown. 

"Oh, they're not," replied the younger blond airily. "They're just keeping me warm." 

Zeke snickered good humouredly. "Weirdos!" He strode into the kitchen with the shopping.  
\----------------

Later that night, Mikasa was lying on the inflatable mattress with both Eren and Armin lying either side of her. The dark-haired girl had brought her laptop with her to view some movies with them. It was a horror movie from Hizuru called "Juzo", about the ghost of a girl who climbs out of a well, through a TV screen, to kill people seven days after watching the video of a short film featuring her. 

Mikasa lay back on her cushions and viewed the movie with a stoic expression, while Eren shook in restrained terror and instinctively curled up against Mikasa, who pattered the brown-haired boy on the head and would occasionally mutter "there-there" to sooth him. Armin, however, lay completely under the covers. Mikasa sighed; believing that Armin was trying to spare himself the horror. She patted the younger child's body. 

"Armin? Hey, wake up!" The body under the covers stirred gently. Mikasa, peeled back the covers to find that the blond was in fact fast asleep. 

"Aww! He's like a little puppy." Mikasa grinned. 

Eren glanced over. "He's a heavy sleeper. Even the alarm clock won't wake him."

Mikasa frowned. "Well, with his ashma, he shouldn't be sleeping with a blanket over his face. What was he thinking?"

Eren shrugged. "He says that sleeping under the covers keeps the lights out of his eyes."

"Oh! I thought he was scared of the dark." 

Eren yawned. "Apparently, not anymore." 

Mikasa smiled widely when Armin gave a cute little yawn. The girl cooed at the little blond kid. "Awww!" She took hold of one of the boy's little hands in hers and wrapped her other arm around Eren's shoulders. 

Armin muttered incoherently in his sleep. Mikasa rubbed his fingers, which prompted the boy into wakefulness. He crouched upward. Squinting and leaning on his hands and knees, Armin glanced around at the lit screen of the laptop. He spotted a vision of a soaking wet, dark-haired female figure climbing out of a well, march closer to the screen and climb out of a TV.

Armin gasped before collapsing on to Mikasa, who grinned sheepishly at the blond when he laid eyes on her. 

"What time is it?" Armin croaked. 

"It's...um...1:05 AM," replied Eren. 

Mikasa wrapped her arm around Armin as she did Eren; hugging both boys like a pair of stuffed animals. Neither minded her "touchy-feely" behaviour. Mikasa had always been an effectionate and preciously-maternal child. Armin went back to sleep, despite the movie, while Eren continued to watch the "Juzo" movie with a mixture of fear and fascination. 

"Hey Eren!" Mikasa rubbed her toes against the brunette's foot under the covers. 

"What?" 

Mikasa plucked at long strands of Armin's hair. "You think we could braid his hair?" The girl grinned mischeviously. 

Eren whinced and shook his head awkwardly. "Don't," he told her. 

"Come on!" She whispered smilingly "He's so pretty." 

"No, Mikasa," Eren whispered. "Don't humiliate him!"

"What? I don't want to humiliate him! I mean, look at that face, look at that hair! He's gorgeous!" 

"Well, you know as well as me that he won't like that." 

Mikasa pursed her lips. She held out a bonnet. "How about this, then?" 

Eren slowly cracked a smile. "Alright, fine. Put it on and Instagraph." 

Grinning, Mikasa put the frilly the bonnet on Armin. After tying the laces under the sleeping boy's chin, Mikasa grabbed her phone and took several photos. Eren smiled widely and stifled a chuckle. Mikasa held Armin close. 

"Can't wait to see his face in the morning!" The boy buried his face into his pillow to muffle out his laughter. But a sudden knock on the door startled both Eren and Mikasa. 

"Do you know what time it is?!" An irritated Carla's voice demanded from outside. "Turn that off and go to sleep!" 

Eren sighed and switch of Mikasa's laptop before placing at the head of the inflatable mattress. Mikasa placed a kiss on Eren's cheek, then turned her head to place one on Armin's forehead. "Goodnight."

"Yeah, goodnight," mumbled Eren as he laid his head down. He drifted off to sleep within a moment.


End file.
